COLUMBUS Adrian Kempe Jersey , Ohio — The Columbus Blue Jackets and New Jersey Devils will get familiar with one another over the next four days.The Metropolitan Division opponents will play each other twice in a home-and-home starting Thursday night at Nationwide Arena. Columbus will then visit New Jersey on Sunday in the final game before the Christmas break.“We have some division games coming up, which I love,” Blue Jackets center Brandon Dubinsky said, according to the team’s website. “I’ve played a lot of games in my career against the guys coming up, and I’m excited about that.”Article continues below ...The vibe going into the first meeting is different on each side.The Blue Jackets (18-12-3) are feeling positive about the state of their game after a 1-0 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Monday night without leading scorer Artemi Panarin in the lineup because of a lower-body injury. With a win, the Blue Jackets would close out a season-long six-game homestand that started with two losses with a 3-2-1 record.Columbus has won two of its last three games and generally played well during the extended home stay, losing several close games that could have gone either way depending on a few bounces of the puck here and there.Panarin is expected to return for Thursday’s game and rejoin the top line with Cam Atkinson and Pierre-Luc Dubois.Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella didn’t disclose Wednesday which player would come out of the lineup for Panarin, but it will be a tough decision.“It’s not a challenge http://www.kingsproshop.com/authentic-al...llo-jersey , it’s a good thing,” Tortorella said.Anthony Duclair probably won’t be coming out. He was inserted into Panarin’s spot against Vegas and impressed Tortorella with his play after being a healthy scratch for two games.“I thought Duke, the speed that he can show, some of the things that he can do, I just hope he understands the other part of it because I’d love to keep him in the lineup,” Tortorella said. “But that’s gonna fall on him.”The talented but inconsistent 23-year-old Duclair hadn’t played much recently because Tortorella says he needs to be better away from the puck.“I just have to gain his trust as we go on here,” Duclair said, according to the team’s website. “I’m a competitor. I want to play every game. I don’t want to be sitting out.“When I’m in the lineup Womens Anze Kopitar Jersey , I want to play as many minutes as possible and help the team in any way I can. I just wanted to do all of those things right and hopefully stay in the lineup.”Duclair could end up on the second line with team captain Nick Foligno and center Alexander Wennberg.The Blue Jackets will be facing a team that’s languishing. The Devils (11-14-7) have slid to the bottom of the Metropolitan Division standings after losing seven of eight games in December.New Jersey returns home Friday night to face the Ottawa Senators to close out a back to back before the Blue Jackets’ visit on Sunday.“The biggest thing is that we have to be a team that plays with attention to detail,” Devils coach John Hynes said. “We can’t have passengers. We had 20 passengers (Tuesday) night.”Hynes was referring to Tuesday’s 7-2 loss at home to the Toronto Maple Leafs on home ice.The Devils’ difficulties can be traced to stopping opponents. They’re giving up 3.63 goals per game. Goaltender Keith Kincaid, who’s now the No. 1 goalie with struggling Cory Schneider on injured reserve, has a 3.00 goals-against average and a .902 save percentage.“We’re a blue-collar team that has to work for everything we want to earn,” Hynes said. “You’re pushing and pushing and pushing.” ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Eric Staal ensured two solid periods didn’t go to waste for the Minnesota Wild.Staal scored his second goal of the game with 5:58 left and Minnesota overcame a sloppy third period to beat the Ottawa Senators 6-4 on Wednesday night.Matt Dumba also scored twice as the Wild ended a two-game slide and won for the 12th time in 17 games. Mikael Granlund had three assists.“We gutted it out and got the job done,” Staal said. “It doesn’t matter how you do it.”Down by three to start the final period, Ottawa’s Thomas Chabot made it 4-2 with a short-handed goal 24 seconds in. Christian Jaros scored his first career goal midway through the period Authentic Derek Forbort Jersey Kids , and Colin White scored 83 seconds later to tie it and send Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk to the bench.“I’ve never made that change in my life. I don’t want to make that change,” Minnesota coach Bruce Boudreau said. “But I thought we needed a break, and we needed something without calling a timeout. Sometimes you call a timeout and that energizes the other team because they think you’re afraid.”On the winner, Jason Zucker controlled the puck behind the Ottawa net before blindly sending a backhand pass in front. Charging down the slot, Staal put the puck behind Craig Anderson.Eric Fehr added an empty-net goal, and Alex Stalock made one save down the stretch to get the win.“It just kind of feels like a waste,” said Chris Tierney, who also scored for Ottawa. “You work that hard to get back and to give it up a couple minutes later is a sour feeling.”This was the start of a four-game trip for the Senators.The Wild were 2 for 4 on the power play against the league’s worst short-handed team. Ottawa is at 67.1 percent on the penalty kill.Staal scored Minnesota’s second power-play goal on a one-timer from the slot six minutes into the second period with a follow-through that dropped him to one knee for a 3-0 lead.Dumba scored on the man advantage with 9.9 seconds left in the first period.Minnesota has scored at least one power-play goal in five straight games (seven goals) and 10 of its past 13 Youth Dion Phaneuf Jersey , going 14 for 47 in that span.“We showed that we can score goals, but we also showed that we’re far away from having a defensive awareness and everything that we need to do defensively to be able to win games on a regular basis,” Ottawa coach Guy Boucher said.Scoring 3.59 goals per game, Ottawa trails only Tampa Bay, but the Senators allow a league-worst 4.27.Tierney scored on a tap-in midway through the second period to get the Senators within 3-1, but Dumba countered with a long shot late in the second.Dumba has five goals and two assists during a career high-tying five-game point streak. His 10 goals are a league high for defenseman, and his four power-play goals are also best by a blue liner. He’s the sixth defenseman since 1989-90 with 10 or more goals through 22 team games, joining Shea Weber http://www.kingsproshop.com/authentic-dr...hty-jersey , Al MacInnis, Ray Bourque, Gary Suter and Jeff Brown.Dumba, who had a career-high 14 last season, is on pace for 39.“Yeah, that’d be something else,” Dumba said with a laugh. “That’s not happening.”The Wild and Senators each have a league-high 20 goals from their defensemen.NOTES: Jordan Greenway also scored for Minnesota. . Dubnyk had 22 saves and Anderson had 28. … Wild LW Marcus Foligno played. He left Sunday’s game after taking a shot off the outside of his right leg that caused him to briefly lose feeling in the leg. … Ottawa LW Mikkel Boedker recorded his 300th career point with an assist on Tierney’s goal.UP NEXT:Senators: At Dallas on Friday night.Wild: Host Winnipeg on Friday.